Crane anchoring device



May 13, 1958 A. G. VANDERBECK 2,834,435

CRANE ANCHORING DEVICE Filed Aug. 17, 1954 53 flfred qilfaz'ulerecfi a ix/4M.

Unite 2,334,435 Patented May 13, 1958 ice CRANE AN CHORING DEVICE Alfred G. Vanderbeck, Merion Golf Manor, Pa.

Application August 17, 1954, Serial No. 450,474

2 Claims. (Cl. 188-42) My invention relates to a braking or anchoring device for conveyors of the type which are suspended from and move along a rail surface. In particular, the invention is concerned with overhead cranes that are moved manually and the crane movement controlled by an operator at the floor surface.

The invention is especially useful with crane conveyors which carry hoists or other aparatus for lifting and transporting material about an industrial plant. The weight carrying cables or chains that depend from the hoist and are used by the operator to move the crane along the rail flange surface, for transporting work from one shop location to another presents a problem in maintaining the crane at the desired fixed location. This is due, probably, to the weight of the work or suspended chains or cables, or the momentum of the structure which exerts a pulling force and at times causes the crane to be in motion.

Particular difficulty is experienced when using electric hoists, where it is necessary to supply power to the hoist, as it moves along with the crane. The power cable, which is carried by a spring reel, unwinds and the Weight of the extended cable, alone or the force of the reel spring exerts such a strong return pulling action that it is necessary to positively anchor the crane in a new position to which it has been advanced.

l have invented a device which is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture yet effective to anchor or hold the crane in any desired fixed position, and which is under the control of the crane operator at the floor level.

In the drawings the invention is shown as applied to a mono-rail track for which the invention is particularly adapted and in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the mono-rail and crane assembly.

Figure 2 is a view through Figure 1 taken generally in the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of an electric hoist and reel assembly.

Referring to the drawings the mono-rail in the form of an I beam has lower lateral flanges 11 and 12. The rail is secured a suitable distance above the floor level to the building structure (not shown), and is of substantial length in order that a single crane may serve several diflerent areas of the shop or move material to various locations about the shop.

A pair of rollers or wheels 14-14 and 1515 are arranged as shown to rotate along on the flanges 11 and 12 and similar plates 16 and 17 are provided to form part of the crane structure. The plates 16 and 17 are suitably fixed about the axles of the rollers and the plates are in turn suitably secured together by one or more transverse bracket arms 18 to provide a unitary and rigid structure which is movable along the rail flanges. At 20 and 21 are shown chains, which are representative of a hoist or other structure, carried by the plates 16 and 17 to depend therefrom with their lower ends within reach of an operator and arranged for attachment to articles which are to be conveyed from one'place to another.

The anchoring device of the present invention comprises an outer cylinder 25 which is secured in fixed position between the plates 16 and 17 and to this end, the cylinders 25 may be variously formed. It may be cast with integral flanges 27-27 as shown, or the flanges may be welded to a section of tubing. The flanges are suitably secured to one of the brackets 18, and a base 28 is provided at the lower end of the cylinder 25 which may be removably assembled thereto, by a screw-thread connection, as shown. At its upper open end the cylinder 25 is formed with an inwardly extending flange or lip 29. Disposed within the outer cylinder 25 is an inner cylindrical member 30 having an open lower end which is received within the outer cylinder 25 in movable telescoping relation therewith and has an upper end 31 which may be closed or arranged to provide a surface of substantial area for receiving frictional braking or anchoring material M.

The outer and inner cylinders 25 and 30 form a housing for a compression spring 32 which is held between the base or lower end 28 of the outer cylinder and the upper end 31 of the inner cylinder. An actuating rod 33, has its upper end secured to the upper end 31 of the inner cylinder and passes through the spring 32 and has its lower end portion extending through the base 28 of the outer cylinder 25 for receiving the upper end of a cable 34 which has its lower end positioned within reach of the operator.

The inner cylinder is provided with one or more lugs 35 which coact with the inner flange or lip 29 on the outer cylinder to limit the upward movement of the inner cylinder, and to maintain the spring 32 fixed or housed within the cylinders.

The base 28 is provided with a latching mechanism which is made up of a compartment 36 for receiving a latching arm 37. The latching arm is constantly urged by the spring S against the actuating rod 33, and the rod 33 is provided with a notch 38, which receives the latch end when the rod is pulled downwardly by the cable 34. The braking or anchoring surface M is then released from contact with the bottom surface of the I beam. For applying the anchoring or braking surface, the latching arm 37 is released by another cable 40 which permits the inner cylinder to move upwardly under the force of spring 32 and places the anchoring surface in contact with the lower surface of the I beam or rail 10 to maintain the crane in the desired position.

In Figure 3, an electric hoist 50 is carried by the plates 16 and 17 and depending from the hoist drum 51 is an attaching hook 52 for the material to be transported. A spring reel 53 is secured in fixed position, for example, to the I beam and supports a power cable 54 which unreels as the crane is moved along the rail surface. The reel is of the self winding type and as the cable unreels the reel spring exerts a pulling force on the cable which, along with the force of the cable weight, requires that the crane be positively anchored as it is advanced to a new position.

I claim:

1. In combination with an overhead flanged rail, a trolley including spaced vertical side plates, said plates having upper portions with wheels journalled therebetween and rotatable along the upper face of the rail flange and lower portions mounting therebetween and below the rail flange nested inner and outer vertically disposed cylinders, one of said cylinders being fixed to a side plate and the other being movable axially of the fixed cylinder toward and away from the lower face of the rail flange,

3 said movable cylinder having an anchoring surface at its upper end and said fixed cylinder having a base plate at its lower end providing a housing, a spring within the housing in tension between-said anchoring surface and said base plate for maintaining the movable cylinder in extended position and its anchoring surface in contact with the lower face of the rail flange, an actuating rod havingabutment means at one end adjacent the upper end of the spring and said rod being manually operable to urge said abutment means downwardly to compress the spring and release the anchoring surface of the movable member from the lower face of the rail to thereby permit the frame and supported structure to be moved along the rail to a new position.

2. In combination with an overhead flanged rail, a trolley including spaced vertical side plates, said plates havingupper portions with wheels journalled therebetween and rotatable along the upper face of the rail flange and lower portions mounting therebetween and below the rail flange nested inner and outer vertically disposed cylinders, one of said cylinders being fixed to a side plate and the other being movable axially of the fixed cylinder toward and away from the lower face of the rail seas r35 flange, said movable cylinder having an anchoring surface at its upper end and said fixed cylinder having a base plate at its lower end providing a housing, a compression spring within the housing'in tension between said anchoring surface and said base plate for maintaining the movable cylinder in extended position and its anchoring surface in contact with the lower face of the rail flange, an actuating rod having an abutment on one end in contact with the upper end of the spring and said rod being manually operable to urge said abutment downwardly to compress the spring and release the anchoring surface of the movable member from the lower face of the rail to thereby permit the frame and supported structure to be moved along the rail to a new position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 597,813 Casey Jan. 25, 1898 1,972,367 Willard Sept. 4, 1934 2,435,418 Wright Feb. 3, 1948 2,639,199 Patrosio May 19, 1953 

